U.S. patent number 4,460,145 [Application Number 06/322,250] was granted by the patent office on 1984-07-17 for book-holder.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Hukuba Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha. Invention is credited to Masumi Ando.
United States Patent |
4,460,145 |
Ando |
July 17, 1984 |
Book-holder
Abstract
A book holder includes a shelf for supporting literature on the
upper surface thereof is attached to a mounting member by means of
a bracket. The bracket retains the shelf capable in a manner to be
switched from a use position whereat the shelf extends obliquely
and forwardly from the mounting member to a non-use position
whereat the shelf is housed under the mounting member. The bracket
may be mounted on the mounting subject through a swivel mechanism,
whereby the direction of orientation of the shelf may be changed
when in the use position.
Inventors: |
Ando; Masumi (Kashiwa,
JP) |
Assignee: |
Hukuba Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
(Chiba, JP)
|
Family
ID: |
26489273 |
Appl.
No.: |
06/322,250 |
Filed: |
November 17, 1981 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Oct 14, 1981 [JP] |
|
|
56-163996 |
Oct 19, 1981 [JP] |
|
|
56-166933 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
248/447; 108/140;
108/5; 248/447.1; 312/233; 312/322 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A47B
46/00 (20130101); A47B 23/02 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A47B
46/00 (20060101); A47B 23/00 (20060101); A47B
23/02 (20060101); A47B 019/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;248/447,293,240,240.1,240.4,448,449,242,291 ;312/322,323,133,233
;108/5,140,48 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Foss; J. Franklin
Assistant Examiner: Talbott; David L.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Wenderoth, Lind & Ponack
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A book holder comprising:
a longitudinal shelf having an upper surface adapted to support an
opened book, said shelf having forward and rearward ends and spaced
opposite upwardly extending side edges;
a bracket supporting said shelf and adapted to be mounted to depend
from a mounting body, said bracket including an upper horizontal
plate portion and spaced vertical plate portions extending
downwardly from opposite sides of said horizontal plate
portion;
swivel mechanism means, extending through said horizontal plate
portion, for mounting said bracket on a mounting body such that
said bracket and thereby said shelf are rotatable about a generally
vertical axis with respect to said swivel mechanism means and the
mounting body;
means for mounting said rearward end of said shelf on said bracket
such that said shelf is movable with respect to said bracket
between a non-use position, whereat said shelf extends generally
horizontally, and a use position, whereat said shelf extends
downwardly from said bracket in a forwardly inclined manner, said
mounting means comprising:
L-shaped openings formed in rear positions of said vertical plate
portions;
generally horizontally extending slots formed in forward portions
of said vertical plate portions;
a first shaft extending through rearward-most portions of said side
edges of said shelf and having opposite ends slidably positioned in
said L-shaped openings; and
a second shaft extending through said side edges of said shelf at
positions forwardly of said first shaft and having opposite ends
slidably positioned in said horizontally extending slots; and
wings attached to said side edges of said shelf in a manner to
enable said wings to be folded over said upper surface of said
shelf and folded laterally outwardly therefrom when said shelf is
in said use position thereof.
2. A book holder as claimed in claim 1, wherein each said L-shaped
opening includes a generally vertical portion and a generally
horizontal portion extending forwardly from a lower end of said
vertical portion.
3. A book holder as claimed in claim 2, wherein the forward end of
each said horizontal portion is upwardly enlarged.
4. A book holder as claimed in claim 2, wherein when said shelf is
in said non-use position said opposite ends of said first shaft are
positioned at forward ends of respective said horizontal portions,
and when said shelf is in said use position said opposite ends of
said first shaft are at upper ends of respective said vertical
portions.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a book holder and more
particularly to a book holder suitable for use when one stands up
before a work table to perform an operation while reading
literature.
A book holder of this type is used, for example, when one stands up
before a cooking table to perform cooking while reading a cooking
procedure or the like written in a cook-book. That is, if the
cook-book is placed on the cooking table during cooking, the
cook-book tends to be stained by materials to be cooked or the like
and the space where the cook-book is placed cannot be used, thus
hampering cooking. To overcome this problem, the structure shown in
FIG. 1 has been proposed heretofore.
In FIG. 1, there is shown a book-rest 1, which comprises a member
having an L-shaped lateral longitudinal section, and a pair of
support levers 2 and 3 pivotally mounted on side edges thereof at a
central portion and at a rear portion thereof, respectively, such
support levers being pivotally mounted on the bottom 6 of a
suspended shelf 5 above a work table 4. In cooking on the table 4,
the cook 7 draws the book-rest 1 forwardly above the cooking table
4 to direct a cook-book placed thereon forwardly and upwardly as
shown in FIG. 1. In this manner, the cook-book may be retained
without staining the cook-book and without hampering the cooking
operation. When the book-rest 1 is not used, the book-rest 1 is
forced rearwardly, and an iron element 9 of the book-rest is
attracted by a magnet element 8 secured to the bottom 6 of the
suspended shelf 5 as shown in FIG. 2 to thereby retain the
book-rest 1. In this manner, the book-rest 1 may be disposed so as
not to hamper the cooking operation when the book holder is not
used.
In the prior art structure of FIG. 1, however, the position and
direction of the book-rest 1 while in the use state are determined
by the folding operation of the support levers 2 and 3 and by the
weight of the book-rest 1 and the cook-book placed thereon, and
therefore the stability of the book-rest 1 is poor.
In addition, in the structure of FIG. 1, it is not possible to
completely house the book-rest 1 when not in use merely by forcing
the book-rest 1 rearwardly, and care must be taken to insure that
the iron element 9 is attracted by the magnet element 8. Thus, in
the structure of FIG. 1, the book-rest 1 must be handled with care,
resulting in an inconvenience in practical use.
Moreover, in the structure of FIG. 1, the support levers 2 and 3
pivotally mounted on opposite side edges of the plate-like
book-rest 1 are folded to move the book-rest 1 to the use state or
to the non-use state. As a consequence, the direction of movement
of the book-rest 1 is always limited to the forward and rearward
directions and the book-rest cannot be moved in the lateral
directions. Accordingly, when the cook moves laterally with respect
to the cooking table 4, the cook-book must be read from an
obliquely lateral direction and therefore the content of the
cook-book is difficult to read.
Furthermore, in the structure of FIG. 1, the mounting position of
the support levers 2 and 3 on the bottom plate 6 must be inevitably
set in consideration of the fact that the book-rest 1 must be
housed beneath the bottom plate 6. Thus, if the eyes of the cook 7
are at a high level as shown by A1 in FIG. 1, the rear end of the
book-rest 1 comes within a dead angle .theta., and hence, the cook
when desiring to read an article in the cook-book within the range
of such dead angle must take a lowered posture to lower the level
of his eyes to a lower position as indicated at A2, thus requiring
an additional cumbersome operation.
It would be preferably supposed that in order to avoid such
difficulties, the book-rest 1 could be extended outwardly as
indicated at K by the dotted lines in FIG. 1 so that the cook-book
then would not be within the range of the dead angle .theta..
However, when the book-rest 1 then is housed under the suspended
shelf 5, the extended portion K would protrude forwardly of the
suspended shelf 5 as shown in FIG. 2. Therefore, the external
appearance becomes poor when housed, and in addition the operation
of the cooking table 4 possibly would be greatly hampered by the
protrusion of the book-rest 1 when not in use (because the dead
angle on the cooking table 4 would be enlarged when the book holder
is not in use).
Incidentally, generally speaking, the dimension D of the depth of
the suspended shelf is normally about 300 mm, and thus the length L
of the book-rest must be less than 300 mm in order that the
book-rest 1 not protrude from the suspended shelf 5 when housed.
Accordingly, the problem of the dead angle .theta. at the position
A1 in FIG. 1 cannot be solved.
OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to
provide a book holder which can stably position a book-rest during
use by a simpler operation than in prior art arrangements and which
can readily house the book-rest under a mounting member.
The book holder according to the present invention is therefore
designed so that a shelf for supporting literature thereon may be
retained in an obliquely forwardly extended use position or in a
substantially horizontally extended non-use position by means of a
bracket mounted on a mounting or support member or body.
Particularly, in order that the book-rest may be operated to be
switched simply between the use and non-use positions, the book
holder of the present invention is designed so that the shelf is
retained on the bracket so that the shelf may be slidably moved in
a forward and rearward direction with respect to the bracket,
whereby when the rear end of the shelf is retained by the bracket
the shelf may assume an obliquely forwardly extended use position,
and conversely when the forward end of the shelf is retained by the
bracket the shelf may assume a non-use position where the shelf is
extended horizontally to be housed under the mounting body. In this
manner, the shelf may be moved to the use position merely by the
operation of drawing it forwardly, and the shelf may be moved to
the non-use position merely by the operation of pushing it
rearwardly. Also, the book holder of the present invention is
designed so that the bracket retains the shelf in a manner so as to
be rotated integrally with the shelf. Thus, in the use position the
shelf may be extended obliquely forwardly from the mounting body,
whereas in the non-use position the shelf may be rotated to be
housed beneath the mounting body. In this manner, the shelf may be
housed beneath the mounting body by the simple operation of
rotating the shelf.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a book
holder whereby when a cook moves laterally with respect to a
cooking table, the direction in which the book-rest faces may be
easily changed so that literature placed on the book-rest always
faces the cook.
The book holder according to the present invention is therefore
designed so that a bracket is mounted on the mounting body by means
of a swivel mechanism.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a
book holder wherein a viewing dead angle with respect to literature
placed on a book-rest in the use position is minimized.
The book holder according to the present invention is therefore
designed so that a bracket is mounted on the mounting body by means
of a swivel mechanism, whereby the book-rest may be rotated for
housing it beneath the mounting body, and wings are mounted on the
book-rest, such wings being closed when not in use.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become
apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments of
the present invention, taken in connection with the accompanying
drawings, in which:
FIGS. 1 and 2 are schematic side views showing a conventional book
holder;
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a first embodiment of a book
holder in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the details of a
swivel mechanism;
FIGS. 6 and 7 are fragmentary sectional views showing the
construction in which a guide pin is attached to a bracket;
FIGS. 8 and 9 are side views showing a book-rest in a use position
and in a non-use position, respectively;
FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the relationship between the
book-rest in a housed state and the mounting member;
FIG. 11 is a fragmentary side view showing the relationship between
the book-rest in a use position and the mounting member;
FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a second embodiment of the
book holder in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 13 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the mounting
construction of a shaft and a roller;
FIGS. 14 and 15 are fragmentary side views partly in section
showing the relationship between a shelf in a use position and a
non-use position, respectively, and a bracket;
FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing a third embodiment of the
book holder in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 17 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the relationship
between a shelf and a bracket;
FIGS. 18 and 19 are longitudinal sectional views showing the
relationship between the shelf in a use position and a non-use
position, respectively, and the bracket;
FIG. 20 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the construction in
which a stopper pin is mounted on a bracket element;
FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a fourth embodiment of the
book holder in accordance with the present invention;
FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing a book holder in a condition
where an auxiliary shelf portion is extended from a main shelf
portion;
FIG. 23 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the relationship
between the shelf and the bracket;
FIGS. 24 and 25 are longitudinal sectional views showing the
relationship between the shelf in a use position and a non-use
position, respectively, and the bracket;
FIG. 26 is a fragmentary sectional view showing an engageable pin
formed in a main shelf portion; and
FIG. 27 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view showing the
shelf in its extended position.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
In the following, examples of the present invention will be
described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 3 shows a first embodiment of a book holder in accordance with
the present invention, the book holder comprising a book-rest 11, a
bracket 12 for supporting a rear end thereof, and a swivel
mechanism 13 for rotatably retaining the bracket 12.
As shown in FIG. 4, the bracket 12 comprises a horizontal plate
portion 12A extending laterally, and vertical plate portions 12L
and 12R bent and extended downwardly from the left and right ends,
respectively, of the horizontal plate portion 12A, the horizontal
plate portion 12A being formed in a substantially central position
thereof with a circular hole 12B in which the swivel mechanism 13
is mounted. The swivel mechanism 13 has a center shaft 13A composed
of a shaft portion 21 rotatably fitted into the hole 12B and a
flange portion 22 extending horizontally and outwardly from a lower
end of the shaft portion 21, the center shaft 13A being fitted from
the underside into the circular hole 12B of the horizontal plate
portion 12A of the bracket 12 as shown in FIG. 5, with a center
collar 13B being opposed to the flange portion 22 and with the
horizontal plate portion 12A placed therebetween, and center collar
13B is rotatably fitted into the shaft portion 21. Washer plates
13C and 13D are placed on upper and lower ends, respectively, of
the center shaft 13A, and wood screws 24 are screwed from the
underside into four vertical holes 23 bored in the shaft portion 21
so that forward ends thereof are screwed into a bottom plate 6 of a
suspended shelf 5, whereby the horizontal plate portion 12A of the
bracket 12 may be stably rotated with respect to flange portion 22
of the center shaft 13A by the center collar 13B, with the result
that the bracket 12 may swivel integrally with the book-rest
11.
On the other hand, the vertical plate portions 12L and 12R of the
bracket 12 are formed at their rear portions with L-shaped holes 26
and at their forward positions with laterally extending long
grooves 27. In the case of the illustrated embodiment, the long
grooves 27 are open frontwardly.
The book-rest 11 has a plate-like shelf 11A having both left and
right side edges each bent so as to form an inverted-L in lateral
section, and as shown in FIG. 6, a guide pin 11B laterally extends
through holes 31 bored in upwardly rising plate portions in the
rearmost ends of the left and right side edges 30L and 30R, the
guide pin 11B having its left and right ends extended through
respective L-shaped holes 26 of the vertical plate portions 12L and
12R of the bracket 12 so as to be extended outwardly of the bracket
12 to bear on the L-shaped holes 26 through rubber guide rollers
32L and 32R urged onto such extended ends, whereby the guide pin
11B and thus the rear end of the shelf 11A may be smoothly moved
along the resultant L-shaped locus of holes 26 without play.
At positions forwardly of the holes 31 in the left and right side
edges 30L and 30R of the shelf 11A, there are formed holes 33 (FIG.
7), and a guide pin 11C laterally extends through the holes 33, the
guide pin 11C having left and right ends extended through the long
grooves 27 in the vertical plate portions 12L and 12R of the
bracket 12 so as to be extended outwardly of the bracket 12,
whereby the guide pin 11C is stopped at the long grooves 27 and the
shelf 11A may be vertically moved about such stopped position.
Guide pin 11C, when the shelf 11A is drawn forwardly or forced
backwardly, can be guided along the long grooves 27 for lateral
movement whereby as the rear guide pin 11B is moved in response to
the lateral movement or vertical rotation of the shelf 11A, the
rotative center by the guide pin 11C may be displaced within the
long grooves 27.
As shown in FIG. 7, rubber stop collars 34L and 34R are interposed
under pressure between the left and right vertical plate portions
12L and 12R of the bracket 12, whereby the guide pin 11C may be
smoothly moved within the grooves 27 without play.
The book holder constructed as described above is assembled as
follows: First, the center shaft 13A is inserted into the circular
hole 12B of the bracket 12 from the underside of the bracket 12,
the center collar 13B is inserted from above, and the washer plates
13C and 13D are held from upper and lower portions thereof and
thereafter they are secured to the bottom plate 6 of the suspended
shelf 5 by means of the wood screws 24.
Next, wings 11L and 11R are attached to the shelf 11A and the guide
pin 11C and stop collars 34L and 34R are mounted, after which the
guide pin 11C is inserted into the long grooves 27 from front side,
whereby the shelf 11A is retained by the long grooves 27.
Thereafter, the guide pin 11B is inserted into the holes 31 in the
shelf 11A through the guide grooves 26 of the bracket 12, and the
guide rollers 32L and 32R are forced onto both ends of the guide
pin 11B through the guide grooves 26, thus completing the
assembly.
In this way, the book holder may be assembled easily without
requiring special skills.
With the foregoing arrangement, in use of the book holder, when the
front end of the shelf 11A is slightly raised and pushed backward
and then rotated downwardly, the rear shaft 11B of the shelf 11A
assumes a position wherein it is stopped at the upper portion of
the L-shaped guide grooves 26. Thus, the shelf 11A is maintained in
a state where the front end thereof extends obliquely frontwardly
and downwardly. In this position, when the wings 11L and 11R are
opened outwardly, an effective area for receiving the cook-book is
enlarged laterally, whereby the cook-book may be stably put on the
book-rest 11.
In this position, when a cook moves to the right or left, the shelf
11A can be pushed laterally to cause it to swivel when necessary.
At this time, the shelf 11A of the book-rest 11 undergoes a force
by which it is rotated along with the bracket 12 since the bracket
12 can swivel over the flange 22 of the center shaft 13A. Here, the
center collar 13B stably retains the bracket 12 on the center shaft
13A, and accordingly, the bracket 12 and thus the shelf 11A may
swivel smoothly.
Thus, the cook can read the cook-book on the book-rest 11 directed
toward him (or her) from substantially the front and accordingly,
the cook can conduct cooking more comfortably.
When the book-holder is to be moved from the aforesaid use
position, the wings 11L and 11R are folded over the shelf 11A and
the shelf 11A is rotated upwardly until the forward end thereof
assumes a substantially horizontal level and then is pulled out.
Thus, as shown in FIG. 9, the shaft 11B at the rear of the shelf
11A comes into engagement with the front and lower ends of the
L-shaped guide grooves 26 whereby the shelf 11A is locked in a
substantially horizontal orientation. From this position, the shelf
11A is further rotated leftwards or rightwards so as to be
positioned to extend in a substantially lateral direction. At this
time, the shelf 11A entirely is installed beneath the bottom plate
6 of the suspended shelf 5.
As described above, in accordance with the book holder constructed
as shown in FIG. 3, in the position of use where the book-rest 11
is drawn forwardly, when the cook moves laterally before the
cooking table, the book-rest 11 can swivel easily, and therefore
cooking can be conducted much more easily compared with the
conventional book holder as mentioned above with reference to FIGS.
1 and 2.
Further, since the wings 11L and 11R are attached to the shelf 11A,
it is possible to locate the cook-book stably thereon even if a
relatively narrow shelf 11A is used.
In addition, by a combination of the provision of the wings 11L and
11R on the shelf 11A and the achievement of storing the shelf 11A
by making use of a rotation operation, it is possible to provide a
book holder which has a much smaller dead angle and the overall
structure of which is much smaller than those of the prior art.
Incidentally, since the wings 11L and 11R are laterally spread when
in use and are folded onto the narrow shelf 11A when not in use,
the position of mounting the bracket 12 on the suspended shelf 5
can be relatively forwardly of the shelf and need not be at the
inner or rearward portion thereof. The reason is that in the stored
state with the shelf 11A turned laterally, the width of the shelf
11A can be narrowed by the extent by which the wings 11L and 11R
are folded or spread outwardly. Thus, the bracket 12 is not forced
out frontwardly of the suspended shelf 5 even if the bracket is
mounted in the vicinity of the front of the suspended shelf 5.
Moreover, this means that, as shown in FIG. 11, in the position of
use where the shelf 11A is drawn forwardly, that portion l of the
book holder opposed to the bottom plate 6 is small, and
accordingly, the dead angle of the book-rest 11 becomes small.
It should be further noted that a finger hole 38 is provided at the
forward end of the shelf 11A, whereby the cook may thrust his
finger into the finger hole 38 to grip the shelf 11A thus
facilitating the operations of drawing out and pushing in and
vertically rotating the shelf 11A.
FIG. 12 illustrates a second embodiment of the book holder in
accordance with the present invention. In this embodiment, the
bracket 12 is mounted on the bottom plate 6 of the suspended shelf
5 by the swivel mechanism 13 at a position where the front plate
portion is substantially aligned with the front surface of the
suspended shelf 5, as shown in FIG. 14. Accordingly, if the cook
moves before the cooking table when using the book holder, the
book-rest may be swiveled in the direction of such movement, in a
manner similar to that described above in connection with FIG.
3.
In this case, however, the construction in which the shelf 11A is
connected to the bracket 12 is different from that of FIG. 3. That
is, the bottom ends of the vertical plate portions 12L and 12R of
the bracket 12 are inwardly bent at right angles in a substantially
horizontal direction to form bent plate portions 41L and 41R, and
the front plate portion 12C of the bracket 12 extends downwardly
from the horizontal plate portion 12A to a position adjacent the
left and right side edges 30L and 30R of the shelf 11A. However,
the shelf 11A laterally extends through the bracket 12 through a
clearance between the front plate portion 12C and the bent plate
portions 41L, 41R. The vertical plate portions of the left and
right side edges 30L and 30R at the rearmost end of the shelf 11A
have axial holes 42 bored therein as shown in FIG. 13, and a
rotatable shaft 12D extends through axial holes 42. Rubber rollers
43L and 43R are forced onto left and right extended ends of the
shaft 12D so that the rollers 43L and 43R are rotated integral with
the shaft 12D.
The book holder constructed as shown in FIG. 12 is assembled in a
manner as follows: First, the bracket 12, with the swivel mechanism
13 assembled thereon in a manner similar to that described above,
is secured to the bottom plate 6 of the suspended shelf 5. The rear
end of the shelf 11A with the wings 11L and 11R attached thereto
(at this time, the shaft 12D and rollers 43L, 43R are not yet
attached) is then inserted into the underside of the front plate
12C of the bracket 12 and extended therethrough rearwardly, and in
this extended state, the shaft 12D and rollers 43L, 43R are forced
into the rear end of the shelf 11A to complete the assembly of the
book holder.
With the foregoing arrangement, in use of the book holder, the
shelf 11A is drawn forwardly from the bracket 12, and the wings 11L
and 11R are opened to left and to right. At this time, the rollers
43L and 43R at the rear end of the shelf come into contact with the
upper back face of the bracket 12 as shown in FIG. 14, and the
shelf 11A is supported, as it extends obliquely and downwardly, on
the front ends of lower plate portions 41L and 41R. Accordingly,
the forward portion of the shelf 11A moves out of the bracket 12
and extends obliquely, forwardly and downwardly, and the cook-book
supported by the shelf 11A and wings 11L, 11R may be held in an
obliquely, forwardly and downwardly direction position.
In this state, the cook may rotate the shelf 11A while moving
laterally before the cooking table, and the book-rest 11 swivels so
that the cook-book is directed towards the cook. Thus, the cook can
always continue cooking while reading the cook-book which is in an
easily readable position.
From this use state, the book-rest 11 may be housed under the
suspended shelf 5 by forcing the shelf 11A inwardly towards the
bracket. At this time, the book receiving plate 37 at the forward
end of the shelf 11A comes into contact with the front plate 12C of
the bracket 12 as shown in FIG. 15, but the rear portion of the
shelf 11A extends rearwardly of the bracket 12 and as a consequence
it inclines downwardly therefrom by its own weight and is held on
the bracket 12 when the left and right side edges 30L and 30R come
into contact with the lower end of the front plate 12C. In this
position, if the bracket 12 is viewed from the front, the shelf 11A
does not extend forwardly from the bracket 12, and thus cooking is
never hampered.
When the book-rest 11 is forced into the bracket 12 from the use
state, the rollers 43L and 43R attached to the rear end of the
shelf 11A roll in contact with the bottom plate 6 of the suspended
shelf 5 as shown by the dotted lines in FIG. 15 to guide the shelf
11A rearwardly, and therefore the shelf 11A can be smoothly housed
under the suspended shelf without damaging the bottom plate 6.
While in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the shelf 11A has been
forced rearwardly without rotation of the bracket 12 to extend the
shelf 11A into the bracket 12, it should be appreciated that the
bracket 12 first may be rotated to a laterally extending
orientation in a manner similar to the embodiment of FIG. 3, after
which the shelf 11A may be extended laterally through the bracket
12.
While also in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, the rollers 43L and
43R have been forced onto both ends of the shaft 12D extended
outwardly from the left and right side edges 30L and 30R of the
shelf 11A, it should be appreciated that instead thereof or along
therewith, similar rollers can be disposed between the left and
right side edges 30L and 30R of the shaft 12D to achieve similar
results.
In addition, while in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 12, the
description has been given with respect to the case where the
present invention is applied to a book holder for holding a
cook-book, the present invention is not limited thereto but may be
widely applied to other situations where a person stands before a
work table to perform an operation while reading literature such
as, for example, for the dispensation of a variety of drugs.
As described above, according to the book holders shown in FIGS. 3
and 12, the book-rest may be drawn forwardly when in use, whereas
it may be housed so as not to hamper work when not in use, and in
addition the book-rest may be swiveled when in use. With such an
arrangement, it is possible to readily provide a simple book holder
with which only by a simple manipulation by an operator, literature
placed on the book-rest always can be maintained in an easily
readable orientation.
Furthermore, while in case of the book holders shown in FIGS. 3 and
12, the wings 11L and 11R are rotated for opening and closing
movements thereof, the structure of the invention is not limited
thereto, but rather the wings can be stored internally of the shelf
when not in use and the wings can be extended outwardly of the
shelf when in use, for example, such as by an arrangement wherein
the wings slide to be extended outwardly.
FIG. 16 illustrates a third embodiment of a book holder in
accordance with the present invention. In FIG. 16, a shelf 51
having a -shaped lateral section is retained on the bottom plate 6
(FIG. 1) of the suspended shelf 5 by means of a bracket 52. The
bracket 52 includes a pair of bracket elements 52L and 52R having
-shaped section with horizontal plate portions 53 and 54 directed
inwardly. In this condition, the bracket is attached, from the
underside thereof, to the bottom plate 6 of the suspended shelf 5
by means of screws 56 through tapped holes 55, to thereby retain
shelf 51 between the horizontal plate portions 53 and 54 which face
each other.
As shown in FIG. 17, the shelf 51 has left and right side edges 60L
and 60R each including an upwardly extending vertical plate portion
57 and a horizontal plate portion 58 which is bent to extend
inwardly from the upper end thereof, leaving a rear end 59 (FIGS.
18 and 19). The rear end 59 of each of the left and right side
edges 60L and 60R has a vertical plate portion 61 higher than the
other vertical plate portion 57 and formed at the forward end
thereof with a stepped portion 62. The height of the vertical plate
portion 61 of the rear end 59 is less than the space between the
horizontal plate portions 53 and 54 of the bracket elements 52L and
52R so that the shelf 51 may be slidably moved in generally forward
and rearward directions between bracket elements 52L and 52R while
the left and right side edges 60L and 60R are guided by vertical
plate portions 63 of the bracket elements.
Extending through holes 64 in substantially vertically central
positions near the forward ends of the vertical plate portions 63
of the bracket elements 52L and 52R is a stopper pin 65 which is
spaced above lower horizontal plate portions 53 by a distance less
than the height of the rear ends 59 of the shelf 51. Locking rubber
rings 66L and 66R are forced onto outwardly extended ends of the
stopper pin as shown in FIG. 20 to prevent disengagement thereof.
The holes 64 and the stopper pin 65 are located at a height
slightly higher than the height of the vertical plate portions 57
of the left and right side edges 60L and 60R of the shelf 51.
Accordingly, in the state where the shelf 51 is drawn forwardly
with respect to the bracket elements 52L and 52R as shown in FIG.
18, the stepped portions 62 of the left and right side edges 60L
and 60R come into contact with the stopper pin 65 whereby the rear
ends 59 of the shelf 51 are retained on the bracket elements 52L
and 52R. However, since the height of the vertical plate portions
61 of the rear ends 59 of the left and right side edges 60L and 60R
is less than the spacing between the horizontal plate portions 53,
54 of the bracket elements 52L and 52R, the shelf 51 inclines
downwardly as it moves forwardly from the bracket elements 52L and
52R due to the weight of the forward portion thereof, whereby the
upper surface thereof faces in a forward and upward direction. This
state is maintained by bringing the stepped portions 62 of the rear
ends 59 of the shelf 51 into contact with the pin 65, the bottom
plate 67 into contact with forward ends of the lower horizontal
plate portions 53 of the bracket elements 52L and 52R, and the rear
upper ends 68 into contact with the inner surface of the upper
horizontal plate portions 54 of the bracket elements 52L and 52R.
To this end, the forward ends of the horizontal plate portions 53
are cut away partially.
The shelf 51 is formed at the forward end thereof with an upwardly
extending receiving plate portion 71 whereby in the use state where
the shelf 51 extends forwardly and downwardly, a cook-book placed
on the upper surface of the shelf is supported from the bottom by
portion 71.
On the other hand, riser elements 72L and 72R are formed at left
and right portions in the lower surface of the forward end of the
shelf 51, whereby when the shelf 51 is forced into the bracket
elements 52L and 52R as shown in FIG. 19, elements 72L and 72R come
into contact with the forward ends of the horizontal plate portions
53 at the lower sides of the bracket elements 52L and 52R. At this
time, the shelf 51 tends to rotate downwardly and rearwardly due to
the weight of the rear portion thereof, but the horizontal plate
portions 58 of the left and right side edges 60L and 60R of the
shelf 51 come into contact with the pin 65, whereby the shelf 51 is
maintained in a substantially horizontal state with the bottom
surface thereof supported on the rear ends of the bracket elements
52L and 52R.
The book holder constructed as shown in FIG. 16 is assembled in a
manner as follows: First, the bracket elements 52L and 52R are
secured by means of the screws 56 to the bottom plate 6 of the
suspended shelf 5. The shelf 51 is inserted between the horizontal
plate portions 53 and 54 of the bracket elements 52L and 52R, and
thereafter the stopper pin 65 is extended through the holes 64 of
the brackets 52L and 52R and the rubber rings 66L and 66R are
forced onto the external extended portions of the pin, thus
completing the assembly.
With the foregoing arrangement, when the book holder is used, a
finger may be thrust into a finger hole 74 formed in the forward
end of the shelf 51 to pull it out forwardly. In this state, when
the hand is released from the shelf 51, the shelf 51 assumes the
state shown in FIG. 18 in which the shelf has inclined forwardly
due to the weight of the forward portion thereof. Then, the
cook-book can be placed on the shelf 51 to direct the cook-book
forwardly and upwardly so that the cook-book can be maintained in
an easily readable orientation by a cook.
To change the mode for use to non-use, one can hold the forward end
of the shelf 51 to raise it upwardly and at the same time the shelf
may be forced rearwardly. At this time, the shelf 51 is brought
into the horizontal state as shown in FIG. 19 due to the weight of
the rear portion thereof, and thus the shelf 51 is housed under the
bottom plate 6 of the suspended shelf 5.
In the use and non-use positions, the shelf 51 is held at the
respective rear and forward ends thereof by means of the bracket
elements having a -shaped section which embrace the left and right
side edges 60L and 60R, whereby the use and non-use positions of
the shelf 51 may be maintained positively and stably.
This eliminate the necessity of performing the operations of
drawing out and pushing in of the shelf 51 with particular
care.
FIG. 21 illustrates a fourth embodiment of a book holder in
accordance with the present invention. This embodiment is different
from the embodiment shown in FIG. 16 in that the forward end of the
shelf 51 can telescope.
That is, the shelf 51 in this embodiment comprises a main shelf
portion 77 of a construction similar to shelf 51 of FIG. 16, but
with the receiving plate portion 71 thereof omitted, and an
auxiliary shelf portion 78 laterally slidably mounted on the
forward end of the main shelf portion 77.
The auxiliary shelf portion 78 has a -shaped transverse section as
shown in FIG. 23, and the auxiliary shelf portion 78 is fitted into
the main shelf portion 77 so that left and right side edges 81L and
81R of the auxiliary shelf portion are slidably engaged with the
left and right side edges 60L and 60R of the main shelf portion 77.
Each of the left and right side edges 81L and 81R of the auxiliary
shelf portion 78 includes a vertical plate portion 83 extending
upwardly from respective left and right side edges of a bottom
plate 82 and a horizontal plate portion 84 extending outwardly from
the upper end of the vertical plate portion 83. A guide groove or
opening 85 extends longitudinally and through vertical plate
portion 83 in a substantially vertically central position at the
forward end thereof as shown in FIGS. 24 and 25.
Engageable pins 86L and 86R are mounted, for example by caulking,
on the forward ends of the vertical plate portions 57 of the left
and right side edges 60L and 60R of the main shelf portion 77 and
extend slightly inwardly therefrom. The engageable pins 86L and 86R
engage in the guide grooves 85 in the vertical plate portions 83 of
the left and right side edges 81L and 81R of the auxiliary shelf
portion 78, whereby the auxiliary shelf portion 78 may be slidably
moved to extend forwardly of the main shelf portion 77.
In this embodiment, each guide groove 85 is formed at the forward
end thereof with an upwardly extending stopping groove 87 so that
when the auxiliary shelf portion 78 is retracted into the main
shelf portion 77 as shown in FIGS. 21 and 24, the engageable pins
86L and 86R are engaged with the stopping grooves 87, whereby the
auxiliary shelf portion 78 stops at a position where the bottom
plate is brought into contact with the bottom plate of the main
shelf portion 77. At this time, a finger hole 88 of the auxiliary
shelf portion 78 and finger hole 74 of the main shelf portion 77
are registered with and overlap each other. When the auxiliary
shelf portion 78 is drawn forwardly from the main shelf portion 77,
the engageable pins 86L and 86R are engaged with the guide grooves
85, whereby the auxiliary shelf portion 78 is raised upwardly so
that the bottom plate of the auxiliary shelf portion 78 moves above
the main shelf portion 77, and the horizontal plate portions 84 of
the left and right side edges 81L and 81R come into contact with
the horizontal plate portions 58 of the left and right side edges
60L and 60R of the main shelf portion 77, and finally the auxiliary
shelf portion 78 is retained so as to extend in substantially the
same direction as the extended direction of the main shelf portion
77.
The auxiliary shelf portion 78 is formed at the forward end with a
receiving plate portion 89 so that when the auxiliary shelf portion
78 is retracted, a cook-book can be received at the forward
position of the main shelf portion 77, whereas when extended, the
cook-book can be received at a position extended forwardly of the
main shelf portion 77.
With the foregoing arrangement, in case of a small cook-book, the
auxiliary shelf portion 78 remains retracted within the main shelf
portion 77 for use (FIG. 24). On the other hand, in case of a large
cook-book, the auxiliary shelf portion 78 is drawn forwardly from
the main shelf portion 77 for use (FIG. 27). In this manner,
similarly to the case as described above in connection with FIG.
16, the cook-book placed on the book-rest may be maintained in a
position directed forwardly and upwardly without staining the
cook-book or without hampering the cooking operation. When the
auxiliary shelf portion 78 is drawn outwardly, the engageable pins
86L and 86R are engaged with the guide grooves 85, whereby the
auxiliary shelf portion 78 may be supported so as to extend from
the forward end of the main shelf portion 77 in the same direction
as the extended direction thereof, in which case the cook-book also
can be held positively and stably.
Thus, there is no necessity of performing the operation of drawing
the auxiliary shelf portion 78 from the main shelf portion 77 with
particular care.
While in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 16 and 22, the description
has been made of the case in which the bracket 52 is composed of
the bracket elements 52L and 52R divided into two sections, it
should be noted that instead of such arrangement the bracket may be
formed, for example, to include a single upper horizontal plate
portion 54. In this case, the stopper pin 65 can be divided into
two sections which are extended slightly inwardly and from the left
and right side walls.
Furthermore, while in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 16 and 22, the
description has been made of the case in which the present
invention is applied to a book holder for holding a cook-book, the
present invention is not limited thereto but may be widely applied
to other situations where a person stands before a work table to
perform an operation while reading literature such as, for example,
for the dispensation of a variety of drugs.
As described above, according to the structure shown in FIGS. 16
and 22, when the shelf 51 is drawn out from the bracket 52 secured
to the mounting member, the rear end of the shelf 51 is supported
on the bracket in a manner such that the shelf 51 is extended
obliquely, forwardly and downwardly due to the weight of the
forward portion thereof, whereby a relatively rigid and simple
construction is provided and the literature may be held on the work
table, whereas when not in use, the shelf 51 may be easily housed
only by the simple manipulation of inserting the shelf into the
bracket 52.
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